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ArchivesIs Endeavour really an existing male English first name?
Having watched a re-run of the Colin Dexter's famous TV- series "Inspector Morse", I wonder if Morse's first name, Endeavour, is really an existing name? Or did the writer, Colin Dexter, just make it up?
I mean, 'to endeavour' is a verb, that's why I'm asking. A site about Inspector Morse says he was given the Christian name Endeavour due to his Quaker upbringing and his father's passion for Captain Cook (Huh? I don't get this).
Anyway, I'd be glad if someone could tell me if Endeavour is really an existing (Christian) first name, and when people have begun using the name.
Thanks in advance!
Regards,
Lucille
I mean, 'to endeavour' is a verb, that's why I'm asking. A site about Inspector Morse says he was given the Christian name Endeavour due to his Quaker upbringing and his father's passion for Captain Cook (Huh? I don't get this).
Anyway, I'd be glad if someone could tell me if Endeavour is really an existing (Christian) first name, and when people have begun using the name.
Thanks in advance!
Regards,
Lucille
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Replies
Yes it is a real name.
My son is called Endeavour.
My son is called Endeavour.
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It is a name.
* Quakers often chose names of virtues like faith, hope, chastity, persistence...
* You can read about Capt. Cook's explorations on his ship, the Endeavor, simply by Googling his name...
On February 14, 1779, Captain James Cook, the great English explorer and navigator, is killed by natives of Hawaii during his third visit to the Pacific island group.
In 1768, Cook, a surveyor in the Royal Navy, was commissioned a lieutenant in command of the HMS Endeavour and led an expedition that took scientists to Tahiti to chart the course of the planet Venus. In 1771, he returned to England, having explored the coast of New Zealand and Australia and circumnavigated the globe.
* Quakers often chose names of virtues like faith, hope, chastity, persistence...
* You can read about Capt. Cook's explorations on his ship, the Endeavor, simply by Googling his name...
On February 14, 1779, Captain James Cook, the great English explorer and navigator, is killed by natives of Hawaii during his third visit to the Pacific island group.
In 1768, Cook, a surveyor in the Royal Navy, was commissioned a lieutenant in command of the HMS Endeavour and led an expedition that took scientists to Tahiti to chart the course of the planet Venus. In 1771, he returned to England, having explored the coast of New Zealand and Australia and circumnavigated the globe.
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"'Endeavour' was her name, me boys
Endeavour she did show.
That Whitby collier ventured were
No other ship dared go.
James Cook, he commanded her,
Her crew was of renown.
They found the Southern Continent
And claimed it for the Crown."
From "The Endeavour" by New Zealand folk artist Rudy Sunde.
Endeavour she did show.
That Whitby collier ventured were
No other ship dared go.
James Cook, he commanded her,
Her crew was of renown.
They found the Southern Continent
And claimed it for the Crown."
From "The Endeavour" by New Zealand folk artist Rudy Sunde.
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Endeavor was Cook's ship.
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Actually, "endeavour" (or, the American spelling of "endeavor") is a noun as well as a verb, meaning: "a conscientious or concerted effort toward an end".
I wouldn't be surprised that it may have been used as a name in the past, as the Puritans were well-known to give their children "virtue names" such as Solace, Confidence, Discretion, Perseverence, etc. I don't believe the Quakers, though, were as much inclined to use those types of names.
The reference to Captain Cook has to do with his ship, which was named The Endeavour.
-- Nanaea
I wouldn't be surprised that it may have been used as a name in the past, as the Puritans were well-known to give their children "virtue names" such as Solace, Confidence, Discretion, Perseverence, etc. I don't believe the Quakers, though, were as much inclined to use those types of names.
The reference to Captain Cook has to do with his ship, which was named The Endeavour.
-- Nanaea
1
It beats some of the ridiculous, outlandish, made-up names of today!
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Not to mention such awful names as Remember Patience, etc. :/
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So they used his name in the TV series, did they - spoilsports!
Ship names do turn up sometimes - especially on the birth of a child to a woman whose husband went down with that specific ship. Just as well Morse Senior didn't have a passion for the Marie Celeste ...
I read somewhere that when African slaves were sold in the USA they needed Western names and were often called after the ship they arrived on; apparently this accounts for slaves' names like London and York which look geographical but were in fact the names of slave ships. Can anyone confirm this?
Ship names do turn up sometimes - especially on the birth of a child to a woman whose husband went down with that specific ship. Just as well Morse Senior didn't have a passion for the Marie Celeste ...
I read somewhere that when African slaves were sold in the USA they needed Western names and were often called after the ship they arrived on; apparently this accounts for slaves' names like London and York which look geographical but were in fact the names of slave ships. Can anyone confirm this?
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That would account for the slaves in old records named S.S. Minnow, Busted Flush, and Monkey Business...
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